The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-07-13

Fearful Sights I'm STEAMBOAT at u wild Cclc-
bration by Howiing Fanatics.

Fearful Sights I'm STEAMBOAT at wild Celc-
bration by Howiing Fanatics
The Ambassador, his secretaries, and
suite, and some of the leaders of the
Persian community, with sprinkling
OF fore gners, invited like ourselves,
filled the reserved seats and were cour-
teously informed by the secretaries OF
the embassy, in perfect French. of all
the circumstances and incidents con-
nected with this national celebration,
says writer in the Epoch, describing
the celebration of Hassan and Hussein
in Stamboul. Shortly after We we're
seated we heard wild shouts and clam
ors outside, and presently saw q band
OF wild-lo king men bearing aloft fam
ing maschallahs. They entered In
marching time, and announced the APP
proach of a numerous procession OF
"the faithful" In they poured, pre-
coded by the Persian priests, lugubri-
ously chanting with nasal melody a
kind of funeral song, reciting the tragic
death of Hassan and Hussein, with
maledictions on their assassin, 1ezid,
doomed to an Immortality of infamy.
Then suddenly appeared at the termi-
nation of the chant ghostly looking
crew of men, clad in long white robes,
with uncovered heads and naked swords
in their hands. These men numbered
many hundreds and were termed NaZirs
"A Persian name signifying those con-
secrated to God, being dedicated by
their parents from infancy to observe
the ceremonial and the fasts commemo-
rating the death of Hassan and Hus-
sc n. They flour shed their naked
swords, clashed them wildly together,
and occasionally turned the points on
themselves or their companions, CASH
ing heads, faces and breasts until the
blood flowed and discolored their white
robes. They then dragged each other
by the hand, passed round and round,
hoarsely reciting mourning hymns, with
wild invocations of the names of the mar
tyrs Hussein and Hassan. These men
looked really like demons under the red
glare of the torches borne by their COM
panions, who, to the number of several
thousands, passed in after the singers,
often wiping the bloody brows of the
fanatics.
The horror of this fearful scene was
magnified by the dull, humping sound
made by the self-fagellations of
another band of fanatics who accom-
panied the swordsmen. These men
belabored their broad backs with
scourges made of iron chains, the blows
resounding with sickening sound.
The secretaries told us that the backs
of these men, from the annual repeti-
ton of this scourg ng, and from their
daily habit of carrying heavy burdens,
as hamals or porters, were actually
more like iron than flesh.
After the Nazirs came a typical pro-
cession of the flight of the martyrs
families, with the tents, the banners,
and household goods, and even the
children perched up on horses which
formed part of the show. Wild wall
ings of ooh, Hassan! Oh, Hassan -
accompanied these, as though the in
cidents concentrated had occurred
not 600 years but SIX hours ago.
One of the most curious and at the
same time one of the most repulsive
features of the spectacle was the APP
pearance in the procession, with the
fanatical Nayirs, of large school OF
boys of 10 to IA years of age, some OF
whom gashed themselves with knives
and were thus prepared for fanaticsm.